EVERETT H. “STRETCH” ROOSA
LIBERTY, NY — Everett H. “Stretch” Roosa, a lifetime Sullivan County resident, died on Friday, December 31, 2004 at the Sullivan County Adult Care Center. He was 86.
The son of Isaac and Augusta Lehmann Roosa, he was born April 30, 1918 in Willowemoc.
A self-employed electrician, he was the founder and former owner of Electro-Electric Co. in Liberty. He was a 50-year member of F&AM Liberty Lodge # 521 and a 50-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He served his country in the Merchant Marines during WWII.
He was predeceased by his wife, Florence McGuire Roosa in 1987; a son, Harold; and a sister, Lyda Charter.
He is survived by two sons, Thomas and his wife Renee of Boonsboro, MD and Michael and his wife Donna of Jeffersonville; a daughter, Patricia DeJesus and her husband Henry of Liberty; seven grandchildren, Zachary, Abby, Dillon, Nicholas, Lauren, Emily and Alison; and one great-granddaughter, Aaliyah.
Services were held on Thursday, January 6 at Ramsay’s Funeral Home with Reverend Carl Steiglich officiating.
Interment will be in the St. Peter’s Cemetery in Liberty.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Thursday, January 13, 2005
IBEW Local 8 (Toledo) Member elected County Treasurer on Pledge to Protect Jobs of Employees
A supposed "news" article that uses very biased language to describe the victory:
Back to: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005501050355 Article published January 5, 2005
Duffey wins tight vote for treasurer as Democrats fight to bitter end
By FRITZ WENZEL
BLADE POLITICAL WRITER
Lucas County Democrats selected union official Dennis Duffey to take over as county treasurer last night in a messy meeting that featured charges of political manipulation, underhanded tactics, and almost nonstop catcalls from the floor and from a public viewing area at the back of the meeting hall that held about 100 spectators.
Mr. Duffey, who is also chairman of the party central committee that appointed him to the post, immediately takes temporary possession of the seat once held by fellow Democrat Ray Kest, who resigned at the end of November to avoid a felony theft charge.
His ascendancy means the jobs of several Kest underlings whose jobs were once threatened will apparently be safe, at least until September.
Mr. Duffey won the seat with 169 votes of the committee, compared to 151 votes cast for Toledo Democrat Wade Kapszukiewicz, a councilman who lost out on the appointment in large part because he has repeatedly said he would "clean house" in the office, eliminating remnants of the Kest dynasty that has controlled the office for 20 years.
Mr. Duffey said during a short speech to the committee, gathered at the United Auto Workers Local 12 hall on Ashland Avenue in Toledo, that Democrats ought to work to save jobs, not promise to eliminate them.
"It's not guilt by association. These are good, hardworking people," he said of the Kest underlings. "It's about fairness. It's about fairness for everyone, not just some."
Mr. Kapszukiewicz said afterward that he "didn't lose anything tonight. The voters lost."
Factions of the Democratic Party have been battling over this appointment since last year, when it became clear that Mr. Kest would be forced from his office before his term ends in September. Members of the faction known as the "A Team" have uniformly backed the appointment of Mr. Kapszukiewicz, who is also a member of that faction. The so-called "B Team" has been split, with party Chairman Sandy Isenberg and Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Chabler supporting Mr. Kapszukiewicz, while other leaders of the faction favored someone who would protect the jobs of the Kest underlings, at least until Sept. 12, when Mr. Kapszukiewicz will take over.
State law provides that the county party central committee shall choose a successor when a county officeholder vacates his seat before the end of his term.
Ms. Isenberg and Mr. Chabler said they believed that, because Mr. Kapszukiewicz won election to the county treasurer's seat in the Nov. 2 election, he should have been appointed to the seat upon Mr. Kest's exit. Others in their faction have said the election simply means that Mr. Kapszukiewicz's claim to the seat begins when the Kest term ends in September, and that in Mr. Kest's absence, party leaders control the appointment to the seat as prescribed by state law.
The meeting started 27 minutes late because the crowd was so large and many had trouble finding parking, a time during which both sides wandered the room hunting for votes. Ninety minutes after it began, the speeches and arguments ended and the voting began.
But the haggling quickly resumed after the votes showed Mr. Duffey victorious, as Mr. Kapszukiewicz's supporters charged the victor had not won a majority of the committee, as required by law.
That squabble began after it was announced that there were 387 voting committee members present, which would have required Mr. Duffey to obtain 194 votes, not the 169 votes he received.
Mr. Duffey and Keith Wilkowski, a local lawyer who volunteered to act on behalf of Mr. Kapszukiewicz, left the UAW hall and headed to party headquarters on Madison Avenue, where they could sort out the problem.
In the end, they counted a total of 327 voting committee members, sealing the victory for Mr. Duffey.
Mr. Duffey and Mr. Chabler, a Kapszukiewicz backer, agreed that all parties will try to meet today "to figure out how we can make this thing work out for the best for everyone."
Mr. Chabler called the controversy over the seat "unfortunate, because we just came out of November winning 20 of 22 local races, and raising a quarter of a million dollars, and now we have this. This is a typical Democratic Party thing."
A time for a reconciliation meeting was not set, but Mr. Duffey indicated Mr. Kapszukiewicz would likely be invited.
Contact Fritz Wenzel at:
fritz@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.
Back to: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005501050355 Article published January 5, 2005
Duffey wins tight vote for treasurer as Democrats fight to bitter end
By FRITZ WENZEL
BLADE POLITICAL WRITER
Lucas County Democrats selected union official Dennis Duffey to take over as county treasurer last night in a messy meeting that featured charges of political manipulation, underhanded tactics, and almost nonstop catcalls from the floor and from a public viewing area at the back of the meeting hall that held about 100 spectators.
Mr. Duffey, who is also chairman of the party central committee that appointed him to the post, immediately takes temporary possession of the seat once held by fellow Democrat Ray Kest, who resigned at the end of November to avoid a felony theft charge.
His ascendancy means the jobs of several Kest underlings whose jobs were once threatened will apparently be safe, at least until September.
Mr. Duffey won the seat with 169 votes of the committee, compared to 151 votes cast for Toledo Democrat Wade Kapszukiewicz, a councilman who lost out on the appointment in large part because he has repeatedly said he would "clean house" in the office, eliminating remnants of the Kest dynasty that has controlled the office for 20 years.
Mr. Duffey said during a short speech to the committee, gathered at the United Auto Workers Local 12 hall on Ashland Avenue in Toledo, that Democrats ought to work to save jobs, not promise to eliminate them.
"It's not guilt by association. These are good, hardworking people," he said of the Kest underlings. "It's about fairness. It's about fairness for everyone, not just some."
Mr. Kapszukiewicz said afterward that he "didn't lose anything tonight. The voters lost."
Factions of the Democratic Party have been battling over this appointment since last year, when it became clear that Mr. Kest would be forced from his office before his term ends in September. Members of the faction known as the "A Team" have uniformly backed the appointment of Mr. Kapszukiewicz, who is also a member of that faction. The so-called "B Team" has been split, with party Chairman Sandy Isenberg and Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Chabler supporting Mr. Kapszukiewicz, while other leaders of the faction favored someone who would protect the jobs of the Kest underlings, at least until Sept. 12, when Mr. Kapszukiewicz will take over.
State law provides that the county party central committee shall choose a successor when a county officeholder vacates his seat before the end of his term.
Ms. Isenberg and Mr. Chabler said they believed that, because Mr. Kapszukiewicz won election to the county treasurer's seat in the Nov. 2 election, he should have been appointed to the seat upon Mr. Kest's exit. Others in their faction have said the election simply means that Mr. Kapszukiewicz's claim to the seat begins when the Kest term ends in September, and that in Mr. Kest's absence, party leaders control the appointment to the seat as prescribed by state law.
The meeting started 27 minutes late because the crowd was so large and many had trouble finding parking, a time during which both sides wandered the room hunting for votes. Ninety minutes after it began, the speeches and arguments ended and the voting began.
But the haggling quickly resumed after the votes showed Mr. Duffey victorious, as Mr. Kapszukiewicz's supporters charged the victor had not won a majority of the committee, as required by law.
That squabble began after it was announced that there were 387 voting committee members present, which would have required Mr. Duffey to obtain 194 votes, not the 169 votes he received.
Mr. Duffey and Keith Wilkowski, a local lawyer who volunteered to act on behalf of Mr. Kapszukiewicz, left the UAW hall and headed to party headquarters on Madison Avenue, where they could sort out the problem.
In the end, they counted a total of 327 voting committee members, sealing the victory for Mr. Duffey.
Mr. Duffey and Mr. Chabler, a Kapszukiewicz backer, agreed that all parties will try to meet today "to figure out how we can make this thing work out for the best for everyone."
Mr. Chabler called the controversy over the seat "unfortunate, because we just came out of November winning 20 of 22 local races, and raising a quarter of a million dollars, and now we have this. This is a typical Democratic Party thing."
A time for a reconciliation meeting was not set, but Mr. Duffey indicated Mr. Kapszukiewicz would likely be invited.
Contact Fritz Wenzel at:
fritz@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
IBEW Teams up With Industry to Improve Line Safety
Press Release Source: MYR Group Inc.
Partnership Takes First Action to Improve Safety in T&D Construction
Tuesday January 11, 3:46 pm ET
DENVER, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An innovative partnership between government, electrical industry business leaders and labor to address the unique safety issues of contractor employees in the electrical transmission and distribution (T&D) industry recently made initial progress in achieving its goals. The coalition has added a significant new partner and heard the first reports of task groups that will expedite improvements in training, data interpretation and utilization and identifying best practices.
The executive committee of the Strategic Safety Partnership, formed in August 2004, heard the initial reports of two "task teams" focusing on different aspects of safety in the T&D industry. The Training Task Team has been reviewing existing training programs within the industry with the intent of identifying the best elements of each and developing standardized training requirements for foremen, lineman and apprentices. The Accident Data Review Task team has been tracking and analyzing historical data, and building a database to identify trends to help understand root causes of accidents for both contractors and utilities. The team is closely examining preliminary indications of trends related to proper use of protective insulating cover up and personal protective equipment (PPE) while working near energized lines and equipment.
A third task team, which will begin work early in 2005, will develop best work practices for the T&D construction industry. This group will include safety and operation professionals from existing partner organizations as well as new entities.
A Steering Committee has been formed with the senior safety professionals of each partner to analyze hard and soft data to better understand the linemen culture and why accidents occur. The Steering Committee is charged with keeping the task teams focused on partnership goals and making recommendations to the Executive Committee on the best way to reduce serious accidents and fatalities.
The partnership also expanded its ranks, adding InfraSource Services, a transmission and distribution construction contractor headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania. In addition, representatives from the original partner groups, including four utility companies (EEI Representatives), two new personnel from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and local union leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have taken an active role in working to achieve the group's objectives.
"I am especially encouraged by the level of involvement and effort by individuals on task teams," said Greg Baxter, OSHA Regional Administrator, Region VIII. "This is what leads to action in the field and ultimately results in workers going home to their families safe and healthy each working day."
The Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed on August 20, 2004, which joined industry leaders in a coalition to reduce injuries and fatalities of workers in the electrical transmission and distribution contracting industry. The agreement joined the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with five electrical contractors: MYR Group Inc.; Henkels & McCoy, Inc., Pike Electric Inc., Quanta Services, Inc., Utility Services, Inc., three key industry organizations: National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and the IBEW.
Partnership Takes First Action to Improve Safety in T&D Construction
Tuesday January 11, 3:46 pm ET
DENVER, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An innovative partnership between government, electrical industry business leaders and labor to address the unique safety issues of contractor employees in the electrical transmission and distribution (T&D) industry recently made initial progress in achieving its goals. The coalition has added a significant new partner and heard the first reports of task groups that will expedite improvements in training, data interpretation and utilization and identifying best practices.
The executive committee of the Strategic Safety Partnership, formed in August 2004, heard the initial reports of two "task teams" focusing on different aspects of safety in the T&D industry. The Training Task Team has been reviewing existing training programs within the industry with the intent of identifying the best elements of each and developing standardized training requirements for foremen, lineman and apprentices. The Accident Data Review Task team has been tracking and analyzing historical data, and building a database to identify trends to help understand root causes of accidents for both contractors and utilities. The team is closely examining preliminary indications of trends related to proper use of protective insulating cover up and personal protective equipment (PPE) while working near energized lines and equipment.
A third task team, which will begin work early in 2005, will develop best work practices for the T&D construction industry. This group will include safety and operation professionals from existing partner organizations as well as new entities.
A Steering Committee has been formed with the senior safety professionals of each partner to analyze hard and soft data to better understand the linemen culture and why accidents occur. The Steering Committee is charged with keeping the task teams focused on partnership goals and making recommendations to the Executive Committee on the best way to reduce serious accidents and fatalities.
The partnership also expanded its ranks, adding InfraSource Services, a transmission and distribution construction contractor headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania. In addition, representatives from the original partner groups, including four utility companies (EEI Representatives), two new personnel from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and local union leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have taken an active role in working to achieve the group's objectives.
"I am especially encouraged by the level of involvement and effort by individuals on task teams," said Greg Baxter, OSHA Regional Administrator, Region VIII. "This is what leads to action in the field and ultimately results in workers going home to their families safe and healthy each working day."
The Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed on August 20, 2004, which joined industry leaders in a coalition to reduce injuries and fatalities of workers in the electrical transmission and distribution contracting industry. The agreement joined the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with five electrical contractors: MYR Group Inc.; Henkels & McCoy, Inc., Pike Electric Inc., Quanta Services, Inc., Utility Services, Inc., three key industry organizations: National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and the IBEW.
IBEW Local 1547 (Anchorage AK) Helps Fund TV Coverage of State Legislature
From the Juneau Empire:
Gavel to Gavel Alaska is produced by KTOO-TV in Juneau. It will air Gov. Murkowski's State of the State address, expected to be delivered to a joint session of the Legislature today at 7 p.m.
Throughout the session, cameras in the state capitol will televise unedited, start-to-finish coverage of House and Senate floor sessions, key committee hearings, news conferences and other state government activity.
The cable television service is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. each weekday, with expanded coverage when legislative activity warrants. The City & Borough of Juneau has once again provided a major grant to support the coverage. ACS provides the Internet webcasting service. GCI Cable and several other cable systems are providing cable channels on 37 cable systems in the state.
KTOO is raising private sector funds to round out the $557,000 budget for the project. In addition to the City & Borough of Juneau, sponsors as of early January include ACS, GCI, the University of Alaska, AT&T Alascom, ConocoPhillips Alaska, the Alaska Association of School Boards, West Group, NEA-Alaska, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, the Alaska Power Association, Bartlett Regional Hospital, Alaska USA, the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, Wostmann and Associates, AARP, the Juneau Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Alaska Conference of Mayors and The Alaska Committee.
Gavel to Gavel Alaska is produced by KTOO-TV in Juneau. It will air Gov. Murkowski's State of the State address, expected to be delivered to a joint session of the Legislature today at 7 p.m.
Throughout the session, cameras in the state capitol will televise unedited, start-to-finish coverage of House and Senate floor sessions, key committee hearings, news conferences and other state government activity.
The cable television service is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. each weekday, with expanded coverage when legislative activity warrants. The City & Borough of Juneau has once again provided a major grant to support the coverage. ACS provides the Internet webcasting service. GCI Cable and several other cable systems are providing cable channels on 37 cable systems in the state.
KTOO is raising private sector funds to round out the $557,000 budget for the project. In addition to the City & Borough of Juneau, sponsors as of early January include ACS, GCI, the University of Alaska, AT&T Alascom, ConocoPhillips Alaska, the Alaska Association of School Boards, West Group, NEA-Alaska, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, the Alaska Power Association, Bartlett Regional Hospital, Alaska USA, the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, Wostmann and Associates, AARP, the Juneau Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Alaska Conference of Mayors and The Alaska Committee.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
IBEW Local 1632 (Horseheads, NY) fights for "Trade Adjustment Assistance for workers whose jobs were "offshored"
http://www.the-leader.com/articles/2005/01/11/local_news/local05.txt
Schumer seeks help from Pataki
BY Michael Mullaney
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
HORSEHEADS | U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer stumped for more than 1,000 former MT Picture Display workers Monday, calling on Albany to help the laid-off employees get the assistance promised to them.
Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Gov. George Pataki to help secure funds needed to provide extended unemployment insurance and job retraining benefits for the displaced workers.
After laying off 260 employees in December 2003, MT Picture Display was deemed eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance by Washington. But due to a lack of federal money, the company was placed on a waiting list by the New York State Department of Labor, said Mike Lenzner, senior manager of human resources at MT Picture Display.
"We got something that was valueless," he said Monday. "There was just no money available."
When MT Picture Display laid off the remainder of its 817-employee work force last month, there were still no funds available.
Lenzner said securing TAA funding was the main topic last month when the Corning Area United Taxpayers Association met with representatives from the company.
"We've flooded the governor and Senator Schumer with a couple hundred letters," since the meeting, he said.
On Monday, Schumer asked Pataki to secure additional funds from the Labor Department, in order to clear state's wait list.
"The bottom line is that the government should step up and give these unfortunate New Yorkers the help they deserve," Schumer said. "I'm glad we were able to make these benefits available on the federal level but now we need the state to make sure the aid gets to the New Yorkers who so badly need it. These former employees are being forced to start the new year looking for jobs for reasons that are beyond their control - and the state and feds should do everything possible to help them learn new skills and re-enter the work force as soon as possible."
Despite Schumer's push, William Jackson - who represented 631 MT employees as president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1632 - didn't sound optimistic Monday.
"It's really good news if we get the funding," he said. "I stress the 'if.'"
Another public meeting to discuss the TAA situation will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday night in the United Steelworkers of America Local 1000 offices at 100 Civic Center Plaza.
Lernzer said both Sen. Schumer and Gov. Pataki were invited to Wednesday's meeting.
.
Schumer seeks help from Pataki
BY Michael Mullaney
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
HORSEHEADS | U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer stumped for more than 1,000 former MT Picture Display workers Monday, calling on Albany to help the laid-off employees get the assistance promised to them.
Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Gov. George Pataki to help secure funds needed to provide extended unemployment insurance and job retraining benefits for the displaced workers.
After laying off 260 employees in December 2003, MT Picture Display was deemed eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance by Washington. But due to a lack of federal money, the company was placed on a waiting list by the New York State Department of Labor, said Mike Lenzner, senior manager of human resources at MT Picture Display.
"We got something that was valueless," he said Monday. "There was just no money available."
When MT Picture Display laid off the remainder of its 817-employee work force last month, there were still no funds available.
Lenzner said securing TAA funding was the main topic last month when the Corning Area United Taxpayers Association met with representatives from the company.
"We've flooded the governor and Senator Schumer with a couple hundred letters," since the meeting, he said.
On Monday, Schumer asked Pataki to secure additional funds from the Labor Department, in order to clear state's wait list.
"The bottom line is that the government should step up and give these unfortunate New Yorkers the help they deserve," Schumer said. "I'm glad we were able to make these benefits available on the federal level but now we need the state to make sure the aid gets to the New Yorkers who so badly need it. These former employees are being forced to start the new year looking for jobs for reasons that are beyond their control - and the state and feds should do everything possible to help them learn new skills and re-enter the work force as soon as possible."
Despite Schumer's push, William Jackson - who represented 631 MT employees as president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1632 - didn't sound optimistic Monday.
"It's really good news if we get the funding," he said. "I stress the 'if.'"
Another public meeting to discuss the TAA situation will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday night in the United Steelworkers of America Local 1000 offices at 100 Civic Center Plaza.
Lernzer said both Sen. Schumer and Gov. Pataki were invited to Wednesday's meeting.
.
IBEW Local 723 (Fort Wayne, IN) members may be affected by City Reorganization Plan
Posted on Tue, Jan. 11, 2005
No decision on privatizing parks department jobs
Discussion was expected this month, but the board is researching the idea.
By Cindy Larson
clarson@news-sentinel.com
The future of an idea to privatize four parks department jobs remains uncertain until more research is done.
In November, about 60 Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department employees attended a board meeting to hear about the plan. At that meeting, Parks Director Dianne Hoover presented an idea to fold four parks department fleet maintenance jobs into the rest of the city’s fleet management contract, which is managed and run by First Vehicle Services. As proposed, the four parks employees could keep their jobs by becoming First Vehicle employees. None of the four employees liked that idea.
The consolidation with the city’s fleet was proposed to save about $57,000 a year. But Bruce Getts, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 723, which represents fleet employees, questioned any savings. He told the board that, under the union contract, the four employees would have to be offered jobs within the parks department.
The board didn’t take any action. It was expected to be discussed this month.
“We’re still researching all that,” Hoover said. “It won’t be on the agenda this month. We’re still putting some numbers together.”
At that November meeting, Hoover also said the parks maintenance department would move out of Lawton Park in about two years. That announcement upset some parks employees who didn’t appreciate hearing the news at a public meeting.
Compounding the situation, two long-term parks employees, Jerry Byanski and Larry Walter, retired within a week of each other. Combined, the two had more than 70 years of experience. Byanski was superintendent of parks; Walter was manager of horticulture and landscape.
All these issues converged at the same time.
“When (the proposal to privatize) was presented, I thought the timing was poor,” Deputy Mayor Al Moll said. “We were in the midst of union negotiations… We have a very strong relationship with that union.”
Moll said the administration might support a plan to privatize “if there was an organized, well- thought-out plan” – and as long as employees don’t lose jobs. “We’re still waiting to see that well-thought-out plan,” he said.
Moll also said he thought Hoover’s presentation should have focused on the reason for the proposed move. Mayor Graham Richard believes there might be a better use for that land than as a maintenance facility, Moll said. He said different ideas have been proposed, “none of them are cast in concrete,” but include using the land for an I-Max theater, a space camp tied in with nearby Science Central, or a community greenhouse facility.
Moll also noted that residents’ No. 1 priority is preserving the parks we have. Any decision on changes to Lawton Park should be made by the park board and should have public input before any decision, said longtime parks advocate City Councilman John Shoaff, D-at large.
Park board President Charles McNagny agreed. In the case of Lawton Park, he said it’s valuable to discuss openly possible options and for the board to consider new options.
Hoover initially tied changes to Lawton Park with a proposed Salvation Army community center across Clinton Street from the park. Although a grant for that center fell through, the city still is hoping to redevelop that property, formerly an OmniSource scrap yard.
As for the departure of Byanski and Walter, McNagny said, “I’m always concerned at seeing well-qualified and dedicated park employees leave their jobs.”
But he added, “At some point you have to expect people will consider other options.”
The issue of low employee morale also concerns McNagny. He said the board will “try to work with the director and all the employees to make the system the best system we can.”
Byanski’s and Walter’s retirements sent up a red flag to Shoaff. “Good morale is very important for probably any city staff. The fact two top people have left years before normal retirement just might be a clue.”
Meanwhile, Hoover is trying to move the department forward. “I’ve been meeting with the union leadership and meeting with the management at Lawton on a regular basis just trying to answer some questions and concerns,” she said. “Two retirements … happened back to back – that creates some angst and anxiety. I can certainly understand all of that.”
© 2005 News Sentinel and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.fortwayne.com
No decision on privatizing parks department jobs
Discussion was expected this month, but the board is researching the idea.
By Cindy Larson
clarson@news-sentinel.com
The future of an idea to privatize four parks department jobs remains uncertain until more research is done.
In November, about 60 Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department employees attended a board meeting to hear about the plan. At that meeting, Parks Director Dianne Hoover presented an idea to fold four parks department fleet maintenance jobs into the rest of the city’s fleet management contract, which is managed and run by First Vehicle Services. As proposed, the four parks employees could keep their jobs by becoming First Vehicle employees. None of the four employees liked that idea.
The consolidation with the city’s fleet was proposed to save about $57,000 a year. But Bruce Getts, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 723, which represents fleet employees, questioned any savings. He told the board that, under the union contract, the four employees would have to be offered jobs within the parks department.
The board didn’t take any action. It was expected to be discussed this month.
“We’re still researching all that,” Hoover said. “It won’t be on the agenda this month. We’re still putting some numbers together.”
At that November meeting, Hoover also said the parks maintenance department would move out of Lawton Park in about two years. That announcement upset some parks employees who didn’t appreciate hearing the news at a public meeting.
Compounding the situation, two long-term parks employees, Jerry Byanski and Larry Walter, retired within a week of each other. Combined, the two had more than 70 years of experience. Byanski was superintendent of parks; Walter was manager of horticulture and landscape.
All these issues converged at the same time.
“When (the proposal to privatize) was presented, I thought the timing was poor,” Deputy Mayor Al Moll said. “We were in the midst of union negotiations… We have a very strong relationship with that union.”
Moll said the administration might support a plan to privatize “if there was an organized, well- thought-out plan” – and as long as employees don’t lose jobs. “We’re still waiting to see that well-thought-out plan,” he said.
Moll also said he thought Hoover’s presentation should have focused on the reason for the proposed move. Mayor Graham Richard believes there might be a better use for that land than as a maintenance facility, Moll said. He said different ideas have been proposed, “none of them are cast in concrete,” but include using the land for an I-Max theater, a space camp tied in with nearby Science Central, or a community greenhouse facility.
Moll also noted that residents’ No. 1 priority is preserving the parks we have. Any decision on changes to Lawton Park should be made by the park board and should have public input before any decision, said longtime parks advocate City Councilman John Shoaff, D-at large.
Park board President Charles McNagny agreed. In the case of Lawton Park, he said it’s valuable to discuss openly possible options and for the board to consider new options.
Hoover initially tied changes to Lawton Park with a proposed Salvation Army community center across Clinton Street from the park. Although a grant for that center fell through, the city still is hoping to redevelop that property, formerly an OmniSource scrap yard.
As for the departure of Byanski and Walter, McNagny said, “I’m always concerned at seeing well-qualified and dedicated park employees leave their jobs.”
But he added, “At some point you have to expect people will consider other options.”
The issue of low employee morale also concerns McNagny. He said the board will “try to work with the director and all the employees to make the system the best system we can.”
Byanski’s and Walter’s retirements sent up a red flag to Shoaff. “Good morale is very important for probably any city staff. The fact two top people have left years before normal retirement just might be a clue.”
Meanwhile, Hoover is trying to move the department forward. “I’ve been meeting with the union leadership and meeting with the management at Lawton on a regular basis just trying to answer some questions and concerns,” she said. “Two retirements … happened back to back – that creates some angst and anxiety. I can certainly understand all of that.”
© 2005 News Sentinel and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.fortwayne.com
IBEW Consultant,, Respected AFL Spokesman, former Sports Writer Rex Hardesty passes on at age 67 after illness
Onetime Chief Labor Spokesman Dead at 67
Tue Jan 11, 1:10 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Rex Hardesty, who was the chief spokesman for the AFL-CIO during a turbulent time for the labor movement in the 1980s, is dead at 67.
Hardesty, a onetime sports editor at the Tulsa World, died Sunday of complications from treatment of leukemia, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he was recently a consultant.
"Rex had a great rapport with reporters because he was a journalist himself," said Rudy Oswald, the AFL-CIO's former director of research.
Hardesty, who once studied to be a Roman Catholic priest, moved here in 1967 to work as a sports writer at The Washington Star. He joined the AFL-CIO in 1969 as an associate editor of the American Federationist, a monthly journal. He later became assistant director of public information in 1981 and director of information in 1987 under then-President Lane Kirkland.
Organized labor had a host of disputes in the 1980s, during the eight years of the Reagan administration. It was during that time that President Reagan fired some 11,500 air traffic controllers for striking against the Federal Aviation Administratio).
A funeral Mass will be held Thursday for Hardesty, who is survived by his wife, Theresa, and three children from a previous marriage.
Tue Jan 11, 1:10 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Rex Hardesty, who was the chief spokesman for the AFL-CIO during a turbulent time for the labor movement in the 1980s, is dead at 67.
Hardesty, a onetime sports editor at the Tulsa World, died Sunday of complications from treatment of leukemia, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he was recently a consultant.
"Rex had a great rapport with reporters because he was a journalist himself," said Rudy Oswald, the AFL-CIO's former director of research.
Hardesty, who once studied to be a Roman Catholic priest, moved here in 1967 to work as a sports writer at The Washington Star. He joined the AFL-CIO in 1969 as an associate editor of the American Federationist, a monthly journal. He later became assistant director of public information in 1981 and director of information in 1987 under then-President Lane Kirkland.
Organized labor had a host of disputes in the 1980s, during the eight years of the Reagan administration. It was during that time that President Reagan fired some 11,500 air traffic controllers for striking against the Federal Aviation Administratio).
A funeral Mass will be held Thursday for Hardesty, who is survived by his wife, Theresa, and three children from a previous marriage.
IBEW Rail Employees (Canada National Railway) Face Lockout from Management
Canadian labour board reviewing essential service implications of possible CN strikes, lockouts
Monday January 10, 4:48 pm ET
CN optimistic about settlements with three unions
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2005-- CN (NYSE:CNI - News; TSX:CNR - News) said today the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has been asked by the Canadian government to determine whether specific rail services should be maintained in Canada in the event of strikes or lockouts involving three of the company's unions.
During the CIRB determination process, CN will continue to bargain in Canada with the United Transportation Union (UTU), representing 2,520 brakemen and conductors; the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents 1,750 locomotive engineers; and the 630-member International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The company remains optimistic settlements can be reached without labour disruption.
CN is cooperating fully with the CIRB, whose essential services review was requested by the Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour.
Until the CIRB renders its decision on essential services, any right to strike or lockout is suspended. After the board's determination, at least 72 hours' strike or lockout notice would be required prior to any legal strike or lockout.
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
www.cn.ca
Contact:
CN
Mark Hallman (Media)
System Director, Media Relations
(905) 669-3384
OR
CN
Robert Noorigian (Investment Community)
Vice-President, Investor Relations
(514) 399-0052
Source: Canadian National Railway Company
Monday January 10, 4:48 pm ET
CN optimistic about settlements with three unions
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2005-- CN (NYSE:CNI - News; TSX:CNR - News) said today the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has been asked by the Canadian government to determine whether specific rail services should be maintained in Canada in the event of strikes or lockouts involving three of the company's unions.
During the CIRB determination process, CN will continue to bargain in Canada with the United Transportation Union (UTU), representing 2,520 brakemen and conductors; the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents 1,750 locomotive engineers; and the 630-member International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The company remains optimistic settlements can be reached without labour disruption.
CN is cooperating fully with the CIRB, whose essential services review was requested by the Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour.
Until the CIRB renders its decision on essential services, any right to strike or lockout is suspended. After the board's determination, at least 72 hours' strike or lockout notice would be required prior to any legal strike or lockout.
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
www.cn.ca
Contact:
CN
Mark Hallman (Media)
System Director, Media Relations
(905) 669-3384
OR
CN
Robert Noorigian (Investment Community)
Vice-President, Investor Relations
(514) 399-0052
Source: Canadian National Railway Company
IBEW Local 153 (South Bend, IN) teams with Magnatech for employee training program
Case Study
The Problem: Magnetech wants to triple its work force. But with manufacturing waning, skilled workers are very hard to find.
From: Inc, January 2005 | Page 38 By: Patrick J. Sauer Photographs by: Andy Goodwin
Don't tell John Martell that manufacturing is dying in the United States. His company, Magnetech Industrial Services, is thriving, with eight locations and revenue of $25 million. Founded in 2000, the company, based in South Bend, Ind., specializes in making, servicing, and repairing industrial magnets and electric motors of all sizes. It's precisely the sort of old-school industrial production that has been headed overseas for years, and Martell is proud that he's been able to keep 170 skilled laborers gainfully employed and his company on the upswing in the face of tough economic conditions.
Martell, 49, frequently walks the 25,000-square-foot factory floor of his South Bend headquarters, where 22 of his workers, all of them members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, strip, test, and remanufacture engines for clients ranging from steel producers to city governments. But Martell began to recognize something worrisome -- Magnetech, it was increasingly clear, had a labor problem. No, the workers were not restive, nor were pickets lining up outside. Instead, too many of his employees were gray-haired veterans of the industry. Eventually they'd be retiring. And it was less than clear where he'd find the next generation of industrial workers to replace them.
Martell's fears were confirmed last spring when he and his management team did a quick, informal study of the workers at all eight locations -- four in Indiana and others in West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Alabama. The result: At least 80% of the employees were well into their 40s. "We have an issue," Martell realized.
And it was a big one. Martell had major plans for Magnetech. While other U.S. manufacturers have been downsizing and moving operations offshore, Martell saw revenue hitting $100 million by 2007 -- a feat that would require tripling the company's work force. The question was where he would find the next generation of workers. Back when American manufacturing was robust, most new workers came through union apprenticeship programs. After graduating from high school, mechanically inclined kids who weren't college bound were brought on by the industrial locals to learn alongside journeymen.
To say that things have changed since then would be a major understatement. Manufacturing job losses totaled 257,000 in 2003 and more than 3 million since 1998. A scant 13.5% of U.S. workers belong to a union, and many of the apprenticeship programs have faded away. At the same time, technological innovations require more training than in the past -- putting Magnetech in a Catch-22 that it didn't create but that nobody else was going to solve. "There is a Rust Belt mentality that says, 'It'll die,'" says Martell. "We want to show that there is a future in industrial manufacturing."
With no union apprentices to hire, Martell has found most of his new workers through word of mouth or newspaper ads. He also woos skilled laborers from competing firms. But those tactics are short-term fixes at best. Too often Magnetech has been relying on workers who may be skilled in one part of the job but do not understand the entire process -- precisely what a strong apprenticeship program teaches.
All of which led Martell to ask himself: If Magnetech was going to sink resources into recruiting workers, wouldn't it make at least as much sense to invest in an in-house education program of its own? If the unions were no longer training apprentices, perhaps Magnetech would have to do it itself.
The Decision
In April 2003, Martell decided to refocus his energies into creating the next generation of Magnetech workers himself. His first step was to hire education and training expert Mark Melnick to design a fully credentialed, in-house apprenticeship program.
The curriculum, known as the Magnetech Motor Repair Apprenticeship Program, took about six months and $30,000 to develop. Here's how it works: Apprentices must log 8,000 on-the-job hours, including 800 off-the-clock evening hours in the classroom. While working alongside experienced journeymen, students earn about $12 an hour and receive raises every six months they're in the program. Once completed, apprentices will have reached journeyman status -- earning about $20 an hour -- a designation that is transferable across the country and generally ensures higher wages and greater employment opportunities. What's more, participants will be close to an associate's degree upon graduating, and Melnick and Martell hope some students go on to finish college.
All credentialed industrial apprenticeship programs must be approved by the Department of Labor. Magnetech finally got the go-ahead from the Feds last August and will begin officially in January in South Bend, with about six students. Martell will introduce the program to his other facilities over the next two years. Eventually he hopes to train as many as 10 apprentices a year at each of his locations.
The apprenticeship program already is boosting morale on the shop floor, Martell says. "With all the negatives and shrinkage in the industry, it's hard for the employees to be excited about what they're doing," he says. "Now the attitude has changed." Indeed, Martell was stunned by the number of Magnetech workers, many of them with years on the job, who were interested in becoming apprentices themselves to earn journeyman status. In fact, he initially signed up too many current employees and quickly changed course to include a better mix of older and newer employees.
The program will cost Magnetech between $3,000 and $4,000 a year per student. Will it solve the company's labor problems? Martell thinks so, though he admits it will take a few years before he sees results. "I'm confident it will be a long-term solution once we get committed applicants," he says.
In the meantime, education and training have become an official part of Magnetech's business plan. The company, in conjunction with nearby Vincennes University, has begun offering accredited courses such as Basic Machine Control and Pneumatics and Advanced Hydraulics to local manufacturers. It's currently less than 1% of total revenue, but Martell and Melnick want it to grow -- to further diversify Magnetech's business but also to help prove that U.S. manufacturing is far from a dying industry.
Otto Taylor, an electrical worker for more than four decades, helped develop Magnetech's curriculum and is thrilled to see a return to the old union apprenticeship approach. "Someone has to put their foot down before we become a third world country ourselves," says Taylor. "Magnetech is going about it the right way. John Martell could build an empire."
The Experts Weigh In
Can Magnetech create a work force from scratch?
Magnetech deserves all the credit for setting up this program. But what is lacking is broad-based federal and state government support so that apprenticeship programs can succeed. Manufacturing is skilled labor -- not the stereotype that it's for those who aren't smart enough to go to college. In Germany, manufacturing often attracts the best and brightest; people serve as apprentices and then go on to study engineering and it's viewed as a positive because they have hands-on experience. In that sense, Magnetech is a pioneer.
Harley Shaiken, professor of education and geography, University of California Berkeley
It's encouraging that John Martell is doing this because it's proactive rather than reactive. Improvements can't come just from the state governments; it has to be a public-private collaboration. Magnetech is recognizing its role in economic development, creating its own demand-driven model by educating workers to match the skill sets the company needs, which will build worker loyalty. This is an awesome program. I hope other Indiana manufacturers and other industries will follow suit.
Le Anh Long, research director, Indiana Economic Development Council
No customer will keep giving contracts just to protect jobs, so companies have to look at saving on total costs. Investments in streamlining, such as premium tools and new technologies, might ultimately be a better solution for Magnetech. It has to evolve as quickly as the global marketplace and consider what the company will look like in 25 years. Pricing is the bottom line, and efficiency is the way to remain competitive. I wonder if Martell is willing to admit that his work force could become obsolete in 10 years.
Laura Roberts, CEO, Pantheon Chemical, Phoenix
Copyright © 2004 Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Inc.com, 375 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
The Problem: Magnetech wants to triple its work force. But with manufacturing waning, skilled workers are very hard to find.
From: Inc, January 2005 | Page 38 By: Patrick J. Sauer Photographs by: Andy Goodwin
Don't tell John Martell that manufacturing is dying in the United States. His company, Magnetech Industrial Services, is thriving, with eight locations and revenue of $25 million. Founded in 2000, the company, based in South Bend, Ind., specializes in making, servicing, and repairing industrial magnets and electric motors of all sizes. It's precisely the sort of old-school industrial production that has been headed overseas for years, and Martell is proud that he's been able to keep 170 skilled laborers gainfully employed and his company on the upswing in the face of tough economic conditions.
Martell, 49, frequently walks the 25,000-square-foot factory floor of his South Bend headquarters, where 22 of his workers, all of them members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, strip, test, and remanufacture engines for clients ranging from steel producers to city governments. But Martell began to recognize something worrisome -- Magnetech, it was increasingly clear, had a labor problem. No, the workers were not restive, nor were pickets lining up outside. Instead, too many of his employees were gray-haired veterans of the industry. Eventually they'd be retiring. And it was less than clear where he'd find the next generation of industrial workers to replace them.
Martell's fears were confirmed last spring when he and his management team did a quick, informal study of the workers at all eight locations -- four in Indiana and others in West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Alabama. The result: At least 80% of the employees were well into their 40s. "We have an issue," Martell realized.
And it was a big one. Martell had major plans for Magnetech. While other U.S. manufacturers have been downsizing and moving operations offshore, Martell saw revenue hitting $100 million by 2007 -- a feat that would require tripling the company's work force. The question was where he would find the next generation of workers. Back when American manufacturing was robust, most new workers came through union apprenticeship programs. After graduating from high school, mechanically inclined kids who weren't college bound were brought on by the industrial locals to learn alongside journeymen.
To say that things have changed since then would be a major understatement. Manufacturing job losses totaled 257,000 in 2003 and more than 3 million since 1998. A scant 13.5% of U.S. workers belong to a union, and many of the apprenticeship programs have faded away. At the same time, technological innovations require more training than in the past -- putting Magnetech in a Catch-22 that it didn't create but that nobody else was going to solve. "There is a Rust Belt mentality that says, 'It'll die,'" says Martell. "We want to show that there is a future in industrial manufacturing."
With no union apprentices to hire, Martell has found most of his new workers through word of mouth or newspaper ads. He also woos skilled laborers from competing firms. But those tactics are short-term fixes at best. Too often Magnetech has been relying on workers who may be skilled in one part of the job but do not understand the entire process -- precisely what a strong apprenticeship program teaches.
All of which led Martell to ask himself: If Magnetech was going to sink resources into recruiting workers, wouldn't it make at least as much sense to invest in an in-house education program of its own? If the unions were no longer training apprentices, perhaps Magnetech would have to do it itself.
The Decision
In April 2003, Martell decided to refocus his energies into creating the next generation of Magnetech workers himself. His first step was to hire education and training expert Mark Melnick to design a fully credentialed, in-house apprenticeship program.
The curriculum, known as the Magnetech Motor Repair Apprenticeship Program, took about six months and $30,000 to develop. Here's how it works: Apprentices must log 8,000 on-the-job hours, including 800 off-the-clock evening hours in the classroom. While working alongside experienced journeymen, students earn about $12 an hour and receive raises every six months they're in the program. Once completed, apprentices will have reached journeyman status -- earning about $20 an hour -- a designation that is transferable across the country and generally ensures higher wages and greater employment opportunities. What's more, participants will be close to an associate's degree upon graduating, and Melnick and Martell hope some students go on to finish college.
All credentialed industrial apprenticeship programs must be approved by the Department of Labor. Magnetech finally got the go-ahead from the Feds last August and will begin officially in January in South Bend, with about six students. Martell will introduce the program to his other facilities over the next two years. Eventually he hopes to train as many as 10 apprentices a year at each of his locations.
The apprenticeship program already is boosting morale on the shop floor, Martell says. "With all the negatives and shrinkage in the industry, it's hard for the employees to be excited about what they're doing," he says. "Now the attitude has changed." Indeed, Martell was stunned by the number of Magnetech workers, many of them with years on the job, who were interested in becoming apprentices themselves to earn journeyman status. In fact, he initially signed up too many current employees and quickly changed course to include a better mix of older and newer employees.
The program will cost Magnetech between $3,000 and $4,000 a year per student. Will it solve the company's labor problems? Martell thinks so, though he admits it will take a few years before he sees results. "I'm confident it will be a long-term solution once we get committed applicants," he says.
In the meantime, education and training have become an official part of Magnetech's business plan. The company, in conjunction with nearby Vincennes University, has begun offering accredited courses such as Basic Machine Control and Pneumatics and Advanced Hydraulics to local manufacturers. It's currently less than 1% of total revenue, but Martell and Melnick want it to grow -- to further diversify Magnetech's business but also to help prove that U.S. manufacturing is far from a dying industry.
Otto Taylor, an electrical worker for more than four decades, helped develop Magnetech's curriculum and is thrilled to see a return to the old union apprenticeship approach. "Someone has to put their foot down before we become a third world country ourselves," says Taylor. "Magnetech is going about it the right way. John Martell could build an empire."
The Experts Weigh In
Can Magnetech create a work force from scratch?
Magnetech deserves all the credit for setting up this program. But what is lacking is broad-based federal and state government support so that apprenticeship programs can succeed. Manufacturing is skilled labor -- not the stereotype that it's for those who aren't smart enough to go to college. In Germany, manufacturing often attracts the best and brightest; people serve as apprentices and then go on to study engineering and it's viewed as a positive because they have hands-on experience. In that sense, Magnetech is a pioneer.
Harley Shaiken, professor of education and geography, University of California Berkeley
It's encouraging that John Martell is doing this because it's proactive rather than reactive. Improvements can't come just from the state governments; it has to be a public-private collaboration. Magnetech is recognizing its role in economic development, creating its own demand-driven model by educating workers to match the skill sets the company needs, which will build worker loyalty. This is an awesome program. I hope other Indiana manufacturers and other industries will follow suit.
Le Anh Long, research director, Indiana Economic Development Council
No customer will keep giving contracts just to protect jobs, so companies have to look at saving on total costs. Investments in streamlining, such as premium tools and new technologies, might ultimately be a better solution for Magnetech. It has to evolve as quickly as the global marketplace and consider what the company will look like in 25 years. Pricing is the bottom line, and efficiency is the way to remain competitive. I wonder if Martell is willing to admit that his work force could become obsolete in 10 years.
Laura Roberts, CEO, Pantheon Chemical, Phoenix
Copyright © 2004 Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Inc.com, 375 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
Electrican's widow FINALLY gets a check, only after TWENTYEIGHT YEARS, & the nuclear worker comp program is moved from the Dept. of Energy to Labor
Nuclear worker's widow paid under revamped compensation program
01/10/2005
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press
The widow of an Oak Ridge nuclear weapons worker received a $125,000 check Monday — one of the first issued by the Department of Labor after assuming a long-delayed compensation program from the Department of Energy.
"Thank you, thank you. ... I just want to say from my heart that I am grateful," said Christine Case, whose late husband, Wayne Wallace Jr., died in 1977 from kidney disease and other illnesses caused by exposure to mercury and other substances at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.
Wallace, who died at 51 after working as an electrician in the bomb parts plant from 1953 to 1971, was one of about 25,000 claims nationally awaiting the compensation Congress promised when it adopted the program four years ago.
The Department of Labor expects to cut through the backlog more quickly than the Department of Energy, in part by no longer requiring a panel of doctors to sign off on each case.
"I can assure you that those of us at the Labor Department are committed to getting this program up and running and getting benefits to eligible workers and their families as quickly as possible," said Assistant Labor Secretary Victoria Lipnic.
Lipnic presented the check to Case, saying it came "on behalf of the president, the secretary of labor, this administration and all Americans who are grateful for the sacrifice that you and your family made."
Shelby Hallmark, director of the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation, said regulations to support the program should be ready in May. Meantime, he said, there are about 100 claims like Case's that are so straightforward the department can move ahead on them now.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who with U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., led the push to transfer the program to Labor, said he didn't want to point fingers over past delays.
"It may have been the fault partly of Congress in the way we set it up. Maybe the responsibility lay with the Department of Energy," Alexander said. "But in any event, we decided to make a fresh start and recognize this nation's obligations to its Cold Warriors."
Worker advocates are encouraged by the change, but still have questions about how the cases will be processed and decisions on compensation made, said Janet Michel, secretary of the Coalition for a Healthy Environment.
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done," she said. "But we are thrilled beyond belief that we have a willing payer for all those thousands of people who did not have a willing payer.
"(And) we are thrilled that DOE is no longer part of this process. You don't ask the betrayer to take care of the victims," she said.
"These workers were harmed in service to our country and compensation to them and their families is long overdue," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said in a statement.
01/10/2005
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press
The widow of an Oak Ridge nuclear weapons worker received a $125,000 check Monday — one of the first issued by the Department of Labor after assuming a long-delayed compensation program from the Department of Energy.
"Thank you, thank you. ... I just want to say from my heart that I am grateful," said Christine Case, whose late husband, Wayne Wallace Jr., died in 1977 from kidney disease and other illnesses caused by exposure to mercury and other substances at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.
Wallace, who died at 51 after working as an electrician in the bomb parts plant from 1953 to 1971, was one of about 25,000 claims nationally awaiting the compensation Congress promised when it adopted the program four years ago.
The Department of Labor expects to cut through the backlog more quickly than the Department of Energy, in part by no longer requiring a panel of doctors to sign off on each case.
"I can assure you that those of us at the Labor Department are committed to getting this program up and running and getting benefits to eligible workers and their families as quickly as possible," said Assistant Labor Secretary Victoria Lipnic.
Lipnic presented the check to Case, saying it came "on behalf of the president, the secretary of labor, this administration and all Americans who are grateful for the sacrifice that you and your family made."
Shelby Hallmark, director of the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation, said regulations to support the program should be ready in May. Meantime, he said, there are about 100 claims like Case's that are so straightforward the department can move ahead on them now.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who with U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., led the push to transfer the program to Labor, said he didn't want to point fingers over past delays.
"It may have been the fault partly of Congress in the way we set it up. Maybe the responsibility lay with the Department of Energy," Alexander said. "But in any event, we decided to make a fresh start and recognize this nation's obligations to its Cold Warriors."
Worker advocates are encouraged by the change, but still have questions about how the cases will be processed and decisions on compensation made, said Janet Michel, secretary of the Coalition for a Healthy Environment.
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done," she said. "But we are thrilled beyond belief that we have a willing payer for all those thousands of people who did not have a willing payer.
"(And) we are thrilled that DOE is no longer part of this process. You don't ask the betrayer to take care of the victims," she said.
"These workers were harmed in service to our country and compensation to them and their families is long overdue," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said in a statement.
Montana to Creat State Transmission Authority (as Wyoming did last year?)
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2005/01/10/build/state/35-olson-power-bill.inc
Olson plans to jolt Legislature with power bill
By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff
Rep. Alan Olson, R-Roundup, sees Montana in the electrical power transmission business and will introduce legislation early in this session to set up an all-encompassing law to do it.
Olson, in his third House term, said he instigated the bill, but a "working group" of regional utilities - including Avista, PacifiCorp, PPL and NorthWestern Energy - had input in its drafting. The process took about six months, he said.
The bill will go before the Federal Relations, Energy and Telecommunications Committee that Olson chairs in the Montana House.
The title for the act runs two pages and covers all the bases for the state to get into the electrical transmission business, both directly and indirectly.
"The state does not necessarily have to do this; it can set up a public-private partnership," Olson said. "For example the state can do the permitting phase. Or it can lease the lines like Bonneville (Power Administration)."
The bill would establish a Montana Transmission Authority, similar to one created by the Wyoming Legislature last year, that would have the power to issue revenue bonds, up to $750 million worth, to finance the projects.
The breadth of the bill gives the MTA the power to "facilitate, plan, finance, site, construct, develop, acquire, own, rent, lease, maintain, upgrade and operate new electrical energy transmission facilities and related supporting infrastructures."
The proposed law would allow for joint ventures and would limit the authority's power if a private entity is willing to construct transmission facilities or provide certain services.
There is a preference clause for Montana labor and a limit on local governments' authority over the MTA.
It authorizes the board of examiners (governor, attorney general and secretary of state) to sign the revenue bonds for the MTA to facilitate and build electrical transmission lines and provides that the principal and interest on the bonds is payable from the net revenue of the transmission lines.
The MTA would not be regulated by the Public Service Commission.
"It is modeled after Wyoming and a proposal in North Dakota," Olson said.
He said the bill was not written specifically to aid coal development in the Otter Creek area.
"This is for all Eastern Montana," Olson said. "It will be used for coal and wind power, too."
Olson said the bonds do not create any liability for the state. Revenue bonds are not repayable under the "full faith and credit" of the state, which has the power to tax its citizens to pay off general obligation bonds. The state's affiliation with revenue bonds allows for a lower rate of interest in financing the bonds.
The bill has been reviewed by the state's bond counsel, Mae Nan Ellingson, of Missoula.
The Wyoming law, passed last spring, allows the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority to issue up to $1 billion worth of bonds. It allows the WIA to own and operate the new power lines or lease them on a wholesale basis only.
The MTA would comprise a five-member citizen board appointed by the governor with the consent of the state Senate. Members would serve four-year terms on a staggered basis.
Similar legislation in Montana has not survived. The 2001 Legislature created the Montana Power Authority, which allowed for up to $500 million in revenue bonding capacity for transmission projects.
Then-Gov. Judy Martz opposed state ownership of any power facilities. The MPA became moot when a referendum in the 2002 election repealed the law that created it.
In 2003, the Legislature considered and rejected a proposal to provide up to $800 million in bonding capacity with the money targeted at development of state-owned coal at Otter Creek.
Olson plans to jolt Legislature with power bill
By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff
Rep. Alan Olson, R-Roundup, sees Montana in the electrical power transmission business and will introduce legislation early in this session to set up an all-encompassing law to do it.
Olson, in his third House term, said he instigated the bill, but a "working group" of regional utilities - including Avista, PacifiCorp, PPL and NorthWestern Energy - had input in its drafting. The process took about six months, he said.
The bill will go before the Federal Relations, Energy and Telecommunications Committee that Olson chairs in the Montana House.
The title for the act runs two pages and covers all the bases for the state to get into the electrical transmission business, both directly and indirectly.
"The state does not necessarily have to do this; it can set up a public-private partnership," Olson said. "For example the state can do the permitting phase. Or it can lease the lines like Bonneville (Power Administration)."
The bill would establish a Montana Transmission Authority, similar to one created by the Wyoming Legislature last year, that would have the power to issue revenue bonds, up to $750 million worth, to finance the projects.
The breadth of the bill gives the MTA the power to "facilitate, plan, finance, site, construct, develop, acquire, own, rent, lease, maintain, upgrade and operate new electrical energy transmission facilities and related supporting infrastructures."
The proposed law would allow for joint ventures and would limit the authority's power if a private entity is willing to construct transmission facilities or provide certain services.
There is a preference clause for Montana labor and a limit on local governments' authority over the MTA.
It authorizes the board of examiners (governor, attorney general and secretary of state) to sign the revenue bonds for the MTA to facilitate and build electrical transmission lines and provides that the principal and interest on the bonds is payable from the net revenue of the transmission lines.
The MTA would not be regulated by the Public Service Commission.
"It is modeled after Wyoming and a proposal in North Dakota," Olson said.
He said the bill was not written specifically to aid coal development in the Otter Creek area.
"This is for all Eastern Montana," Olson said. "It will be used for coal and wind power, too."
Olson said the bonds do not create any liability for the state. Revenue bonds are not repayable under the "full faith and credit" of the state, which has the power to tax its citizens to pay off general obligation bonds. The state's affiliation with revenue bonds allows for a lower rate of interest in financing the bonds.
The bill has been reviewed by the state's bond counsel, Mae Nan Ellingson, of Missoula.
The Wyoming law, passed last spring, allows the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority to issue up to $1 billion worth of bonds. It allows the WIA to own and operate the new power lines or lease them on a wholesale basis only.
The MTA would comprise a five-member citizen board appointed by the governor with the consent of the state Senate. Members would serve four-year terms on a staggered basis.
Similar legislation in Montana has not survived. The 2001 Legislature created the Montana Power Authority, which allowed for up to $500 million in revenue bonding capacity for transmission projects.
Then-Gov. Judy Martz opposed state ownership of any power facilities. The MPA became moot when a referendum in the 2002 election repealed the law that created it.
In 2003, the Legislature considered and rejected a proposal to provide up to $800 million in bonding capacity with the money targeted at development of state-owned coal at Otter Creek.
IBEW Local 1547 (Anchorage AK) negotiates successful contract covering Fairbanks city employees
ttp://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~2645078,00.html
City Council to convene for new year
By DIANA CAMPBELL, Staff Writer
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Fairbanks City Council will grapple with a labor contract, land sales and celebration plans for Alaska's 50th birthday tonight along with the agenda staple of liquor license applications and transfers.
Heading the list is city Mayor Steve Thompson's ordinance to approve a contract extension for city employees covered under the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1547.
The ordinance allows the mayor to enter into a three-year contract with the IBEW.
The contract calls for a new tier of personal leave accrual for employees hired after the date of the contract. Employees hired after the agreement will accrue 160 hours per year, up to two years; 200 hours for two to five years; and 240 hour for over five years.
Other changes include:
* IBEW employees working for the city before the new contract agreement will get 240 hours of leave.
* Also, the city will contribute $800 a month toward health insurance. Remaining costs will be paid by the employee.
*A 3 percent pay increase to employees for 2005, except to positions that have been frozen. Additional pay raises will be based on the Anchorage Consumer Price index.
The IBEW business agent could not be reached Sunday for comment.
Thompson said that contract covers office staff at City Hall. He expects the ordinance to be accepted by the city council.
"That's (the ordinance) to show the employees that the council is behind this proposal," Thompson said.
The City Council will also hear from Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker about the Chena Riverbend Project, and aggressive remake of land located near the Carlson Center into a business, residential, tourist and recreational attraction.
The City Council will consider an ordinance that accepts the Fairbanks North Star Borough's offer of $400,000 to purchase two city tracts of land near the Mitchell Expressway. The borough wants the land in order to relocate ball fields that will have to be moved from the river property to make room for the project.
The council will also look at whether to change conditions of a conveyance of city parks riverfront property to allow the Chena project.
In other city action, the council will also look at adopting the 2005 capital appropriations fund budget.
The council's work session starts at 6 p.m. in council chambers in City Hall, 800 Cushman St., with the council meeting following at 7 p.m. Both are open to the public and will accept public comment.
Diana Campbell is the city/borough reporter and can be reached at 459-7523 or dcampbell@newsminer.com .
.
City Council to convene for new year
By DIANA CAMPBELL, Staff Writer
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Fairbanks City Council will grapple with a labor contract, land sales and celebration plans for Alaska's 50th birthday tonight along with the agenda staple of liquor license applications and transfers.
Heading the list is city Mayor Steve Thompson's ordinance to approve a contract extension for city employees covered under the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1547.
The ordinance allows the mayor to enter into a three-year contract with the IBEW.
The contract calls for a new tier of personal leave accrual for employees hired after the date of the contract. Employees hired after the agreement will accrue 160 hours per year, up to two years; 200 hours for two to five years; and 240 hour for over five years.
Other changes include:
* IBEW employees working for the city before the new contract agreement will get 240 hours of leave.
* Also, the city will contribute $800 a month toward health insurance. Remaining costs will be paid by the employee.
*A 3 percent pay increase to employees for 2005, except to positions that have been frozen. Additional pay raises will be based on the Anchorage Consumer Price index.
The IBEW business agent could not be reached Sunday for comment.
Thompson said that contract covers office staff at City Hall. He expects the ordinance to be accepted by the city council.
"That's (the ordinance) to show the employees that the council is behind this proposal," Thompson said.
The City Council will also hear from Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker about the Chena Riverbend Project, and aggressive remake of land located near the Carlson Center into a business, residential, tourist and recreational attraction.
The City Council will consider an ordinance that accepts the Fairbanks North Star Borough's offer of $400,000 to purchase two city tracts of land near the Mitchell Expressway. The borough wants the land in order to relocate ball fields that will have to be moved from the river property to make room for the project.
The council will also look at whether to change conditions of a conveyance of city parks riverfront property to allow the Chena project.
In other city action, the council will also look at adopting the 2005 capital appropriations fund budget.
The council's work session starts at 6 p.m. in council chambers in City Hall, 800 Cushman St., with the council meeting following at 7 p.m. Both are open to the public and will accept public comment.
Diana Campbell is the city/borough reporter and can be reached at 459-7523 or dcampbell@newsminer.com .
.
Monday, January 10, 2005
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=15111
Nuclear spotlight on Exelon executive: In his first lead role on a turnaround, Crane carries heavy load in making megamerger work
By Steve Daniels, January 09, 2005
A lot is riding on the Exelon Corp. executive's performance. The success of Exelon's planned $13-billion acquisition of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. hinges in large part on Mr. Crane's ability to whip the New Jersey utility's nuclear power plants into shape. He helped Mr. Kingsley pull off a similar feat at Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison Co. This time he's in charge.
"It's an awesome responsibility," says Mr. Crane, 46, who was named chief nuclear officer at Exelon a year ago. "I've done a lot of (turnaround) work as a No. 2 or No. 3. This is the first time I'll be doing it on my own."
The Public Service Enterprise Group deal, announced late last year and expected to close late in 2005 or early in 2006, would make Chicago-based Exelon the largest electric utility in the U.S. Mr. Crane will play a big part in making the merger pay off for shareholders.
Exelon is counting on improved performance at Public Service Enterprise Group's three nuclear power plants to boost profit at the merged company by $60 million to $75 million annually. That's more than half the $117 million, or 12 cents per share, analysts expect the deal to add to Exelon's annual per-share earnings by 2006.
Mr. Kingsley, 62, who retired as Exelon's chief operating officer two months ago, says his apprentice of the last six years will deliver.
"I know he will do very well," Mr. Kingsley says of his prot�g�. "But he's got to prove himself."
BETTER WITH PEOPLE
Mr. Crane, a 25-year utility industry veteran, differs from his former boss in many respects. He's an electrical engineer from New England, and more approachable than Mr. Kingsley, a blustery former Navy submarine officer from Alabama. Where Mr. Kingsley was confrontational and demanding, Mr. Crane is understated and collaborative.
"Oliver's more 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,' " says Robert Joyce, who heads Local 15 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union representing Exelon workers in Illinois. "Chris is a more reasonable person." Mr. Joyce says Mr. Crane recently agreed to hire a handful of new workers, something never done in the cost-cutting Kingsley years.
"He's like me with discipline and rigor," Mr. Kingsley allows. "He's more skilled in being able to communicate and explain. His style wears a little bit better."
Those traits are likely to come in handy at Public Service Enterprise Group, where Mr. Crane must radically change the culture at its nuclear plants, says Corbin A. McNeill Jr., former co-CEO of Exelon and an industry veteran who worked for Public Service Enterprise Group's nuclear unit in the 1980s.
"The issue has gone on so long that it's fairly similar to the Commonwealth Edison problems of the late '80s and mid-'90s," Mr. McNeill says. "It's (a culture) where there is job entitlement, long-term security, little demand for real strong performance and protection of management and labor that didn't really perform."
PLANTS UNDER HIGHER SCRUTINY
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman concurs. "One of their pers istent problems is they would come up with plans for addressing their issues and never follow through on them," he says. The commission last year placed Public Service Enterprise Group's plants under a higher level of regulatory scrutiny because of concerns that workers there feared reprisals if they raised safety issues.
A Public Service Enterprise Group spokesman defends the company's nuclear performance, saying "we have never in our entire history compromised safety and we never will. Even the best among us strive to be better. We look forward to our new partnership."
Mr. Crane fixed similar problems at ComEd, where he oversaw recruiting and training at the company's troubled nuclear plants. He and Mr. Kingsley boosted output at the plants from about 50% of their generating capacity to 93% today.
"The two primary issues you'll find (in an underperforming nuclear operation) is poor direction and a poor accountability model," he says. "In my experience, including Commonwealth Edison, the majority of people want to do the right thing."
Mr. Crane's primary office is in Warrenville, but he expects to spend a lot of time in New Jersey over the next two years. That's how long he figures it will take to raise output at the Public Service Enterprise Group plants from their current 82% of capacity to the 90%-plus level Exelon has reached.
Nuclear spotlight on Exelon executive: In his first lead role on a turnaround, Crane carries heavy load in making megamerger work
By Steve Daniels, January 09, 2005
A lot is riding on the Exelon Corp. executive's performance. The success of Exelon's planned $13-billion acquisition of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. hinges in large part on Mr. Crane's ability to whip the New Jersey utility's nuclear power plants into shape. He helped Mr. Kingsley pull off a similar feat at Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison Co. This time he's in charge.
"It's an awesome responsibility," says Mr. Crane, 46, who was named chief nuclear officer at Exelon a year ago. "I've done a lot of (turnaround) work as a No. 2 or No. 3. This is the first time I'll be doing it on my own."
The Public Service Enterprise Group deal, announced late last year and expected to close late in 2005 or early in 2006, would make Chicago-based Exelon the largest electric utility in the U.S. Mr. Crane will play a big part in making the merger pay off for shareholders.
Exelon is counting on improved performance at Public Service Enterprise Group's three nuclear power plants to boost profit at the merged company by $60 million to $75 million annually. That's more than half the $117 million, or 12 cents per share, analysts expect the deal to add to Exelon's annual per-share earnings by 2006.
Mr. Kingsley, 62, who retired as Exelon's chief operating officer two months ago, says his apprentice of the last six years will deliver.
"I know he will do very well," Mr. Kingsley says of his prot�g�. "But he's got to prove himself."
BETTER WITH PEOPLE
Mr. Crane, a 25-year utility industry veteran, differs from his former boss in many respects. He's an electrical engineer from New England, and more approachable than Mr. Kingsley, a blustery former Navy submarine officer from Alabama. Where Mr. Kingsley was confrontational and demanding, Mr. Crane is understated and collaborative.
"Oliver's more 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,' " says Robert Joyce, who heads Local 15 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union representing Exelon workers in Illinois. "Chris is a more reasonable person." Mr. Joyce says Mr. Crane recently agreed to hire a handful of new workers, something never done in the cost-cutting Kingsley years.
"He's like me with discipline and rigor," Mr. Kingsley allows. "He's more skilled in being able to communicate and explain. His style wears a little bit better."
Those traits are likely to come in handy at Public Service Enterprise Group, where Mr. Crane must radically change the culture at its nuclear plants, says Corbin A. McNeill Jr., former co-CEO of Exelon and an industry veteran who worked for Public Service Enterprise Group's nuclear unit in the 1980s.
"The issue has gone on so long that it's fairly similar to the Commonwealth Edison problems of the late '80s and mid-'90s," Mr. McNeill says. "It's (a culture) where there is job entitlement, long-term security, little demand for real strong performance and protection of management and labor that didn't really perform."
PLANTS UNDER HIGHER SCRUTINY
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman concurs. "One of their pers istent problems is they would come up with plans for addressing their issues and never follow through on them," he says. The commission last year placed Public Service Enterprise Group's plants under a higher level of regulatory scrutiny because of concerns that workers there feared reprisals if they raised safety issues.
A Public Service Enterprise Group spokesman defends the company's nuclear performance, saying "we have never in our entire history compromised safety and we never will. Even the best among us strive to be better. We look forward to our new partnership."
Mr. Crane fixed similar problems at ComEd, where he oversaw recruiting and training at the company's troubled nuclear plants. He and Mr. Kingsley boosted output at the plants from about 50% of their generating capacity to 93% today.
"The two primary issues you'll find (in an underperforming nuclear operation) is poor direction and a poor accountability model," he says. "In my experience, including Commonwealth Edison, the majority of people want to do the right thing."
Mr. Crane's primary office is in Warrenville, but he expects to spend a lot of time in New Jersey over the next two years. That's how long he figures it will take to raise output at the Public Service Enterprise Group plants from their current 82% of capacity to the 90%-plus level Exelon has reached.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
IBEW Local 300 (Montpelier, VT) inks new contract with Central Vermont Public Service Corporation
State's largest electric utility has new contract with workers
RUTLAND, Vt. Vermont's largest electric utility has reached a new contract with its unionized workers.
The members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 ratified the new contract with Central Vermont Public Service Corporation yesterday.
Of the company's 540 workers, the new contract covers 221 unionized employees and takes effect at midnight tomorrow.
The four-year contract provides an annual three-and-a-half percent pay increase from 2005 through 2008.
The company agreed to increase its match for 401(k) contributions from four to four-and-a-quarter percent in 2007. Union employees will pay more for health care contributions, co-payments and prescription drugs.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RUTLAND, Vt. Vermont's largest electric utility has reached a new contract with its unionized workers.
The members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 ratified the new contract with Central Vermont Public Service Corporation yesterday.
Of the company's 540 workers, the new contract covers 221 unionized employees and takes effect at midnight tomorrow.
The four-year contract provides an annual three-and-a-half percent pay increase from 2005 through 2008.
The company agreed to increase its match for 401(k) contributions from four to four-and-a-quarter percent in 2007. Union employees will pay more for health care contributions, co-payments and prescription drugs.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
IBEW Local 123 (Boston) president says slot machines are needed at Suffolk Downs
REVERE
Officials making new bid for slots
But the next step is up for debate
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | January 9, 2005
With the new year comes renewed efforts to bring video slot machines to Revere's racetracks -- and a new conflict among local politicians about how best to achieve this long-sought goal, which supporters argue would increase local tax revenue and preserve local jobs.
Revere state Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein has proposed a bill for the new legislative session that calls for host municipalities to receive a minimum of 2 percent of net gaming revenues and bordering communities to receive 0.5 percent.
While previous slot machine bills have not fared well, the last attempt failed by only 16 votes in the House. Since then, the Legislature has seen high turnover and the election of a new, less conservative speaker, giving Reinstein and other supporters hope that the new version of the bill may be successful this year.
But Ward 4 City Councilor George Rotondo of Revere, who also supports slot machines, has a proposal of his own. He will ask the council tomorrow night to approve a public hearing on a nonbinding referendum that would ask residents in November whether they want slots at Wonderland Dog Track and Suffolk Downs.
Rotondo, who said slot machines at the racetrack in Lincoln, R.I., generated $33.5 million last year, said he is confident Revere residents will support the issue, but wants to make sure their voices are heard.
''Everybody that I talk to is looking for great relief [financially]. . . . We don't have the commercial rate of an Everett or Chelsea or Malden," Rotondo said.
But Rotondo argued that slot machine gambling affects too many people for it to be decided solely on the state level.
''The issue here is that there's no local input," he said. ''What are the pros and cons here?"
Reinstein argued that a November referendum could potentially complicate the state debate, prompting lawmakers to defer to local voters rather than proceeding with a vote this spring, as she had hoped.
''Someone in the state will say, 'Oh, my God, look at this. Let's wait for the referendum in November,' " Reinstein said. ''That could slow the process and slow us down from additional revenue. We're on a fast track. These tracks are not doing very well -- we're talking about people losing jobs."
Reinstein said she expressed her concerns to Rotondo over the timing of his motion.
''In several conversations with him, I've said if this does pass, we'll discuss any concerns residents may have," Reinstein said. ''People want to see money come to the community. This could pay for more police and fire. I'm not someone who thinks people don't have a say. This is a state process, with public hearing and commentary."
Louis Ciarlone, president and business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 123, which represents 240 union employees at Suffolk Downs, said there is a strong desire among Revere residents for slot machine gambling and that a nonbinding referendum is unnecessary.
''As a host community, [Revere] would get quite a share from gaming revenue. That revenue is badly needed in Revere," said Ciarlone, a Revere resident who said his property taxes increased nearly $800 this year. ''I think there's no question in my mind that the city of Revere would favor this."
Ciarlone said a referendum should wait until after state legislators decide on slot machine gambling. That is the approach taken in another gaming bill, filed by New Bedford state Representative Robert M. Koczera, which says that no application for slot machines will be granted to a community unless there's a local referendum by the host community. Reinstein's bill has a similar provision.
''The provisions in the present bills provide for host community approval before building slot machines. That's what would make the approval binding," Ciarlone said. ''There's a good chance gaming may come to fruition this particular year."
Also preferring the wait-and-see approach is Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino. ''It would seem to me we ought to wait for what the legislators do. . . . If it's going to be meaningless, let's not engage in it. I'm not overly optimistic that there's going to be a gaming bill passed, but if imminent, we could revisit the issue," said Ambrosino, who believes the expansion of gaming would benefit Revere.
Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novoselsky said he had yet to see Rotondo's motion, but said residents should have a say on anything implemented in the city. A nonbinding referendum, Novoselsky said, would not take place until November, at which time, ''I would hope the state would have approved [a gaming bill]."
But if plans for a November referendum could actually slow down the state process, Novoselsky said he would not be in favor of it.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
Officials making new bid for slots
But the next step is up for debate
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | January 9, 2005
With the new year comes renewed efforts to bring video slot machines to Revere's racetracks -- and a new conflict among local politicians about how best to achieve this long-sought goal, which supporters argue would increase local tax revenue and preserve local jobs.
Revere state Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein has proposed a bill for the new legislative session that calls for host municipalities to receive a minimum of 2 percent of net gaming revenues and bordering communities to receive 0.5 percent.
While previous slot machine bills have not fared well, the last attempt failed by only 16 votes in the House. Since then, the Legislature has seen high turnover and the election of a new, less conservative speaker, giving Reinstein and other supporters hope that the new version of the bill may be successful this year.
But Ward 4 City Councilor George Rotondo of Revere, who also supports slot machines, has a proposal of his own. He will ask the council tomorrow night to approve a public hearing on a nonbinding referendum that would ask residents in November whether they want slots at Wonderland Dog Track and Suffolk Downs.
Rotondo, who said slot machines at the racetrack in Lincoln, R.I., generated $33.5 million last year, said he is confident Revere residents will support the issue, but wants to make sure their voices are heard.
''Everybody that I talk to is looking for great relief [financially]. . . . We don't have the commercial rate of an Everett or Chelsea or Malden," Rotondo said.
But Rotondo argued that slot machine gambling affects too many people for it to be decided solely on the state level.
''The issue here is that there's no local input," he said. ''What are the pros and cons here?"
Reinstein argued that a November referendum could potentially complicate the state debate, prompting lawmakers to defer to local voters rather than proceeding with a vote this spring, as she had hoped.
''Someone in the state will say, 'Oh, my God, look at this. Let's wait for the referendum in November,' " Reinstein said. ''That could slow the process and slow us down from additional revenue. We're on a fast track. These tracks are not doing very well -- we're talking about people losing jobs."
Reinstein said she expressed her concerns to Rotondo over the timing of his motion.
''In several conversations with him, I've said if this does pass, we'll discuss any concerns residents may have," Reinstein said. ''People want to see money come to the community. This could pay for more police and fire. I'm not someone who thinks people don't have a say. This is a state process, with public hearing and commentary."
Louis Ciarlone, president and business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 123, which represents 240 union employees at Suffolk Downs, said there is a strong desire among Revere residents for slot machine gambling and that a nonbinding referendum is unnecessary.
''As a host community, [Revere] would get quite a share from gaming revenue. That revenue is badly needed in Revere," said Ciarlone, a Revere resident who said his property taxes increased nearly $800 this year. ''I think there's no question in my mind that the city of Revere would favor this."
Ciarlone said a referendum should wait until after state legislators decide on slot machine gambling. That is the approach taken in another gaming bill, filed by New Bedford state Representative Robert M. Koczera, which says that no application for slot machines will be granted to a community unless there's a local referendum by the host community. Reinstein's bill has a similar provision.
''The provisions in the present bills provide for host community approval before building slot machines. That's what would make the approval binding," Ciarlone said. ''There's a good chance gaming may come to fruition this particular year."
Also preferring the wait-and-see approach is Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino. ''It would seem to me we ought to wait for what the legislators do. . . . If it's going to be meaningless, let's not engage in it. I'm not overly optimistic that there's going to be a gaming bill passed, but if imminent, we could revisit the issue," said Ambrosino, who believes the expansion of gaming would benefit Revere.
Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novoselsky said he had yet to see Rotondo's motion, but said residents should have a say on anything implemented in the city. A nonbinding referendum, Novoselsky said, would not take place until November, at which time, ''I would hope the state would have approved [a gaming bill]."
But if plans for a November referendum could actually slow down the state process, Novoselsky said he would not be in favor of it.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
IBEW Local 123 (Boston, MA) Speaks Out For Casino Employees
Officials making new bid for slots
But the next step is up for debate
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff
January 9, 2005
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/09/officials_making_new_bid_for_slots/
With the new year comes renewed efforts to bring video slot machines to Revere's racetracks -- and a new conflict among local politicians about how best to achieve this long-sought goal, which supporters argue would increase local tax revenue and preserve local jobs.
Revere state Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein has proposed a bill for the new legislative session that calls for host municipalities to receive a minimum of 2 percent of net gaming revenues and bordering communities to receive 0.5 percent.
While previous slot machine bills have not fared well, the last attempt failed by only 16 votes in the House. Since then, the Legislature has seen high turnover and the election of a new, less conservative speaker, giving Reinstein and other supporters hope that the new version of the bill may be successful this year.
But Ward 4 City Councilor George Rotondo of Revere, who also supports slot machines, has a proposal of his own. He will ask the council tomorrow night to approve a public hearing on a nonbinding referendum that would ask residents in November whether they want slots at Wonderland Dog Track and Suffolk Downs.
Rotondo, who said slot machines at the racetrack in Lincoln, R.I., generated $33.5 million last year, said he is confident Revere residents will support the issue, but wants to make sure their voices are heard.
''Everybody that I talk to is looking for great relief [financially]. . . . We don't have the commercial rate of an Everett or Chelsea or Malden," Rotondo said.
But Rotondo argued that slot machine gambling affects too many people for it to be decided solely on the state level.
''The issue here is that there's no local input," he said. ''What are the pros and cons here?"
Reinstein argued that a November referendum could potentially complicate the state debate, prompting lawmakers to defer to local voters rather than proceeding with a vote this spring, as she had hoped.
''Someone in the state will say, 'Oh, my God, look at this. Let's wait for the referendum in November,' " Reinstein said. ''That could slow the process and slow us down from additional revenue. We're on a fast track. These tracks are not doing very well -- we're talking about people losing jobs."
Reinstein said she expressed her concerns to Rotondo over the timing of his motion.
''In several conversations with him, I've said if this does pass, we'll discuss any concerns residents may have," Reinstein said. ''People want to see money come to the community. This could pay for more police and fire. I'm not someone who thinks people don't have a say. This is a state process, with public hearing and commentary."
Louis Ciarlone, president and business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 123, which represents 240 union employees at Suffolk Downs, said there is a strong desire among Revere residents for slot machine gambling and that a nonbinding referendum is unnecessary.
''As a host community, [Revere] would get quite a share from gaming revenue. That revenue is badly needed in Revere," said Ciarlone, a Revere resident who said his property taxes increased nearly $800 this year. ''I think there's no question in my mind that the city of Revere would favor this."
Ciarlone said a referendum should wait until after state legislators decide on slot machine gambling. That is the approach taken in another gaming bill, filed by New Bedford state Representative Robert M. Koczera, which says that no application for slot machines will be granted to a community unless there's a local referendum by the host community. Reinstein's bill has a similar provision.
''The provisions in the present bills provide for host community approval before building slot machines. That's what would make the approval binding," Ciarlone said. ''There's a good chance gaming may come to fruition this particular year."
Also preferring the wait-and-see approach is Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino. ''It would seem to me we ought to wait for what the legislators do. . . . If it's going to be meaningless, let's not engage in it. I'm not overly optimistic that there's going to be a gaming bill passed, but if imminent, we could revisit the issue," said Ambrosino, who believes the expansion of gaming would benefit Revere.
Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novoselsky said he had yet to see Rotondo's motion, but said residents should have a say on anything implemented in the city. A nonbinding referendum, Novoselsky said, would not take place until November, at which time, ''I would hope the state would have approved [a gaming bill]."
But if plans for a November referendum could actually slow down the state process, Novoselsky said he would not be in favor of it.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com
But the next step is up for debate
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff
January 9, 2005
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/09/officials_making_new_bid_for_slots/
With the new year comes renewed efforts to bring video slot machines to Revere's racetracks -- and a new conflict among local politicians about how best to achieve this long-sought goal, which supporters argue would increase local tax revenue and preserve local jobs.
Revere state Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein has proposed a bill for the new legislative session that calls for host municipalities to receive a minimum of 2 percent of net gaming revenues and bordering communities to receive 0.5 percent.
While previous slot machine bills have not fared well, the last attempt failed by only 16 votes in the House. Since then, the Legislature has seen high turnover and the election of a new, less conservative speaker, giving Reinstein and other supporters hope that the new version of the bill may be successful this year.
But Ward 4 City Councilor George Rotondo of Revere, who also supports slot machines, has a proposal of his own. He will ask the council tomorrow night to approve a public hearing on a nonbinding referendum that would ask residents in November whether they want slots at Wonderland Dog Track and Suffolk Downs.
Rotondo, who said slot machines at the racetrack in Lincoln, R.I., generated $33.5 million last year, said he is confident Revere residents will support the issue, but wants to make sure their voices are heard.
''Everybody that I talk to is looking for great relief [financially]. . . . We don't have the commercial rate of an Everett or Chelsea or Malden," Rotondo said.
But Rotondo argued that slot machine gambling affects too many people for it to be decided solely on the state level.
''The issue here is that there's no local input," he said. ''What are the pros and cons here?"
Reinstein argued that a November referendum could potentially complicate the state debate, prompting lawmakers to defer to local voters rather than proceeding with a vote this spring, as she had hoped.
''Someone in the state will say, 'Oh, my God, look at this. Let's wait for the referendum in November,' " Reinstein said. ''That could slow the process and slow us down from additional revenue. We're on a fast track. These tracks are not doing very well -- we're talking about people losing jobs."
Reinstein said she expressed her concerns to Rotondo over the timing of his motion.
''In several conversations with him, I've said if this does pass, we'll discuss any concerns residents may have," Reinstein said. ''People want to see money come to the community. This could pay for more police and fire. I'm not someone who thinks people don't have a say. This is a state process, with public hearing and commentary."
Louis Ciarlone, president and business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 123, which represents 240 union employees at Suffolk Downs, said there is a strong desire among Revere residents for slot machine gambling and that a nonbinding referendum is unnecessary.
''As a host community, [Revere] would get quite a share from gaming revenue. That revenue is badly needed in Revere," said Ciarlone, a Revere resident who said his property taxes increased nearly $800 this year. ''I think there's no question in my mind that the city of Revere would favor this."
Ciarlone said a referendum should wait until after state legislators decide on slot machine gambling. That is the approach taken in another gaming bill, filed by New Bedford state Representative Robert M. Koczera, which says that no application for slot machines will be granted to a community unless there's a local referendum by the host community. Reinstein's bill has a similar provision.
''The provisions in the present bills provide for host community approval before building slot machines. That's what would make the approval binding," Ciarlone said. ''There's a good chance gaming may come to fruition this particular year."
Also preferring the wait-and-see approach is Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino. ''It would seem to me we ought to wait for what the legislators do. . . . If it's going to be meaningless, let's not engage in it. I'm not overly optimistic that there's going to be a gaming bill passed, but if imminent, we could revisit the issue," said Ambrosino, who believes the expansion of gaming would benefit Revere.
Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novoselsky said he had yet to see Rotondo's motion, but said residents should have a say on anything implemented in the city. A nonbinding referendum, Novoselsky said, would not take place until November, at which time, ''I would hope the state would have approved [a gaming bill]."
But if plans for a November referendum could actually slow down the state process, Novoselsky said he would not be in favor of it.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com
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